Heading into last night’s contest (Oct. 4), the New York Rangers were looking to pick up their play and end their two-game losing streak. Unfortunately for them, it ended up being another rough game for the Rangers, as they fell to the Devils by a 5-2 final score. With this loss, the Rangers have fallen to a 1-4-0 record this preseason, and it is hard not to feel a little concerned. Let’s discuss three takeaways from this contest now.
Quick Continues to Struggle
It is not a secret that Jonathan Quick has had a rough go of things this preseason. He allowed three goals on 14 shots against the Boston Bruins earlier this preseason and four goals on 25 shots against the New York Islanders last game. As a result, Quick desperately needed a bounce-back game against the Devils. Instead, Quick had another poor night, allowing four goals on just 18 shots. This equates to a .778 save percentage (SV%) for the night.
Although Quick is still expected to be the Rangers’ backup goalie this season, there naturally has to be some concern moving forward. If these poor performances continue to occur, the Rangers may be forced to look at other options for the role, like Dylan Garand and Louis Domingue.
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Quick is also trying to bounce back from what was a disastrous 2022-23 season for him. In 41 games split between the Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights, he had a 16-15-6 record, a .882 SV%, and a 3.41 goals-against average (GAA).
Cuylle Scores Again
Will Cuylle has had a solid preseason, and he appears to be a real candidate for a bottom-six role this season because of it. As a result of the latter, this contest against the Devils was a big game for the prospect. He certainly answered the bell in the process, as he scored for the second straight contest. He now has two goals and an assist this preseason.
Cuylle, 21, has risen his value as a prospect in recent years. The 6-foot-4 winger has shown that he not only makes an impact with his immense physicality, but he also is a scoring threat, like we saw last night. Besides getting on the scoresheet again last night (Oct. 4), Cuylle was noticeable in other ways. He was fast both with and without the puck, he was heavy on the forecheck and simply looked comfortable. These all should help his chances of making the Rangers’ opening night roster.
Ultimately, if Cuylle can continue to impress, the Rangers may add some youth to their bottom six this season. It is hard not to love what we have seen from the 2020 second-round pick as the preseason has rolled on.
Rangers’ Poor Defensive Play
As noted above, the Rangers have had a bad preseason. There is no way to sugarcoat it. They have won only one of their preseason games and have three in a row after this one. Besides poor goaltending, there are other things that have gone wrong for them. Against the Devils, poor defensive play was a constant theme.
While speaking with reporters following the game, Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette noted that the team did not play well in front of Quick and that they were “way too loose” and gave up too many odd-man rushes (from ‘Jonathan Quick struggles again in Rangers’ loss to Devils,’ New York Post, 10/5/2023) This was certainly noticeable throughout the game, and it has been seen all preseason. This is something that needs to change during the regular season if the Rangers hope to be real threats again.
Nevertheless, this was just a bad night for the Rangers as a unit. They will now look to end their losing streak tonight (Oct. 5) when they take on the Boston Bruins, another team that has struggled this preseason.
